DOJ sues Kansas school district over alleged secret gender transitions for children

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools district, alleging it facilitated secret gender transitions for children at schools without parents' knowledge or consent.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, joined by the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, alleges in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas that KCKPS violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which protect parents’ rights to oversee information about their children in public schools.

According to the DOJ complaint, KCKPS’s “Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document” directs staff to develop and implement “transitioning” plans based on a child’s gender identity without informing or obtaining consent from parents.

“The District maintains policies that direct staff to help students socially transition to a different gender at school and to withhold this information from parents as confidential,” the complaint said. “This conduct violates FERPA’s guarantee that parents can see their children’s school records, seek correction of those records, and prevent disclosure of identifying information without consent.”

“Parental rights are paramount in the operation of America’s public schools, and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools does not know children better than their own parents,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DO's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has launched more than 40 investigations into school districts across the country.

The DOJ has also announced comprehensive “compliance reviews” focusing on sexual orientation and gender identity, and whether schools allow parents to opt their children out of such lessons.

“For decades, schools operated with little accountability as federal parental rights laws like FERPA and PPRA went unenforced, allowing some districts to cut parents out of deeply personal matters involving their own children,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said.

The DOJ is seeking an injunction blocking enforcement of KCKPS’s transgender guidance.

KCKPS told The Center Square that it disputes the allegations and that it is in full compliance with FERPA and PPRA. The district said it was informed that the DOJ had decided to move forward with the federal lawsuit and called the decision disappointing.

“Because this matter is now pending in federal court, the district will respond to the Complaint through the appropriate legal process and will not make any further comment at this time,” KCKPS spokesperson Markl Johnson, director of communications and marketing, told The Center Square.

The Center Square reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive a response.